What's Up @InternetNZ - March 2016

Kia ora InternetNZ members,

The middle of March already - 2016 is flying by. This issue of What's Up has updates on our latest community grants recipients, the InternetNZ and Law Foundation analysis of the TPPA, our reaction to the report from the Independent Review of Intelligence and Security and the upcoming launch of the World Internet Project New Zealand survey.

Community grants go to...

We are very excited to announce the successful applicants for the latest Internet research community grants. InternetNZ's Internet research grant round for 2015-16 was launched in November 2015 with over $100,000 in funding made available to fund individuals or organisations conducting research projects focused on Internet topics and issues.

We received many interesting and high quality applications, including technical, legal and social sciences research on the Internet and its uses. After careful assessment by the Grants Committee and external assessors, and decision by InternetNZ Council, we are very pleased to announce the following recipients.

Ulrich Speidel (University of Auckland) > $20,000The long-term goal of this research is to improve the utilisation and performance of Internet connections that rely on shared satellite links.

Dr Helen Robert (University of Otago) > $14,307This study investigates the impact of ultrafast broadband and associated ICT innovations to the Dunedin economy.

Karaitiana Taiuru > $3,200This research will result in a detailed analysis of the 18 Maori ICT groups detailing their structure, who they are, their purpose and history.

Dr Aniket Mahanti > $9,000This recipient will study the content sharing dynamics in the piracy ecosystem using Internet measurements, and gauge the online media consumption characteristics of New Zealanders through a survey.

Prof Samual Mann (Otago Polytechnic) > $20,000This research benefits community and business by creating a proven, replicable system using Internet of Things tools to support citizen-driven science projects.

InternetNZ's community grants are an important part of our work to support the community who are developing and using the Internet to benefit Kiwis. We are so happy that we can support New Zealanders and people within our Internet community to conduct research that can help in creating a better Internet for us all. We look forward to seeing the results of these research projects and sharing this information with others.

InternetNZ will announce details of the community grant rounds for 2016-17 next month.

InternetNZ supports new analysis of TPP

InternetNZ has supported a new expert analysis of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Part of a series supported by the New Zealand Law Foundation, the paper explains TPP changes on intellectual property and information technology. The paper is available here:

Speaking of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Issues team have prepared InternetNZ's submission on the text itself for Parliament. Our submission explains InternetNZ's belief in balanced and fair copyright terms for New Zealanders; our concern that the TPP will shift that balance and that Fair Use rules in particular are an opportunity for New Zealand. We have also continued to make clear our opposition to negotiating text such as these in private forums, and how that damages public participation and perception of these processes. You can view our submission here:

Our next step will be preparing a submission on the implementation terms, which is due at the end of March. Should you have questions about these submissions, or our stance, contact James.

InternetNZ surveillance recommendations

We've come out pretty strongly against the recommendations of the Independent Review of Intelligence and Security, and their core recommendations to increase the scope of domestic surveillance, in many cases using the Internet. This is not what the Internet was built for, and risks damaging New Zealanders perceptions of the Internet as a medium for free expression and creativity.

Andrew appeared on TVOne's Breakfast Show to do an interview about the report last week. You can see a cut down version of this footage and our media release below:

World Internet Project New Zealand 2015 survey report launch

The World Internet Project is an international research project that tracks the global trends of the Internet by surveying both users and non-users. The World Internet Project New Zealand research is part-funded by InternetNZ and conducted by the Institute of Culture, Discourse & Communication at Auckland University of Technology, one of InternetNZ's strategic partner organisations. We are very excited to announce that the latest research report with the results of the 2015 national survey will be released in April. The data will provide useful and insightful information on Internet use in our country.

We will host the Wellington launch event for the latest survey report at our InternetNZ office on Thursday 14 April and the Auckland launch will be held at AUT on Friday 15 April. To register your interest in the Wellington launch please email Megan Baker at megan@internet.net.nz and for the Auckland launch email Philippa Smith at philippa.smith@aut.ac.nz

Know your InternetNZ staff members

This month we are giving you a snapshot of Ellen Strickland - InternetNZ's Community Programme Director.

What do you actually do: I talk with people about the Internet, work with people to do stuff together, and lead InternetNZ's community funding to support others to shape the future of the Internet for New Zealand.

What’s your favourite thing about the Internet?I should say cute pictures of cats (and dogs!) as I share a lot of them myself... but actually my favourite thing is how the Internet has transformed living far away from family and friends where you can be a part of each others lives everyday easily.

What’s your least favourite?That all our Internet enabled devices and their set-ups make gathering data on people so easy. I worry about that long-term.

What’s your favourite movie?I really don't have one - love heaps! Although the only movies I've seen twice in the theatre were The Matrix and The Force Awakens so...